1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to automobile vehicle hood closure systems.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There exist vehicles in which the hood at the front pivots relative to the structure of the vehicle by means of hinges situated in the rear part of the hood, at the same end as the windshield. There is a single system for locking the hood to the chassis, positioned centrally at the front, or a duplicated system, with symmetrical front lateral positions. The system generally comprises a lock connecting the hood to the structure of the vehicle. This connection to the structure creates a rigid area at the front of the vehicle which, in the event of a frontal impact with a pedestrian, can cause trauma to the hip, in the case of an adult, or to the head, in the case of a child.
One object of the present invention is to provide an automobile vehicle front hood closure system that reduces injury in the event of an impact with a pedestrian.
To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a vehicle hood including a wall, connecting devices for mounting the mobile hood on a vehicle chassis fixed to the wall nearer a rear edge of the wall than to its other edges, and a locking member fixed to the wall for locking the hood to the chassis in a closed position, which locking member is nearer the rear edge of the wall than a front edge of the wall opposite the rear edge.
Thus the rigid area associated with the locking member is moved to the rear, i.e. to the same end as the connecting means, so that the opposite (front) end is free of any rigid area and is therefore more readily deformable. This increased deformability reduces injury in the event of an impact with a pedestrian.
The locking member is advantageously equidistant from two lateral edges of the hood.
The connecting devices advantageously include hinges.
In this way, the hood is rotatably mounted on the chassis.
The connecting devices advantageously include slides.
In this way, the hood is slidably mounted on the chassis.
The hood advantageously includes a safety catch operative in its closed position.
The safety catch is advantageously nearer the front edge of the wall than the rear edge of the wall.
The safety catch advantageously includes a hook adapted to engage in the chassis.
The invention also provides a vehicle which includes a vehicle hood according to the present invention.
The invention also provides a vehicle including a chassis and a hood having a wall, connecting devices fixed to the wall and to the chassis so that the hood is mobile on the chassis, a connecting means being nearer a rear edge of the wall than its other edges, and a locking member fixed to the wall for locking the hood to the chassis in a closed position, and nearer the rear edge of the wall than a front edge of the wall opposite the rear edge.
The locking member advantageously includes a lock adapted to be connected to the chassis.
The locking member advantageously includes a cable connected to the hood.
The hood is advantageously mounted on the chassis so that it can rotate and move in translation.
The hood advantageously includes at least one bracket adapted to cooperate with an orifice formed in a boss projecting from a wing of the vehicle.
The invention also provides a vehicle hood including a wall, connecting devices for mounting the mobile hood on a vehicle chassis fixed to the wall, the connecting devices being nearer a common first edge of the wall than the other edges of the wall, and a locking member fixed to the wall for locking the hood to the chassis in a closed position, which locking member is nearer the first edge of the wall than an edge of the wall opposite the first edge.
Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent in the course of the following description of a preferred embodiment of the present invention, which description is given by way of non-limiting example.